Thunder Comforting the Sea
by Merlin-Herondale
Summary: With the final battle against Gaea approaching, it's time for Percy and Jason to finally have the conversation they both have been pushing off ever since Tartarus. (I DO NOT OWN PJ/HOO) (I SUCK AT SUMMARIES SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT) Please, Enjoy!


The cool sea breeze brought a wave of warmth through Percy as he listened to the sea. The waves were calm, almost as if Poseidon was blessing them with safe passage. Gaea had power over many sea creatures, but at the end of the day the sea creatures owed Poseidon much more than they did Gaea. Percy knew his father was doing what he could to help them when the Argo 2 was at sea.

Standing at the rail of the beautiful ship, Percy listened to the chatter below; the fish were talking to each other about how close Percy was, not knowing that Percy could hear their conversations. Leo had left him in charge of sailing when Piper forced him to get some sleep. He was glad that he had the opportunity to sail again. When Leo used the complex steering system, Percy could feel the constant hum the ship gave off. Now though, without the wii remote guiding their journey around the outskirts of Greece, the hum disappeared. The silence unnerved Percy, he had been hearing the humming constantly for so long, but manning the ship himself made him feel peaceful. He was thankful for the small break they had decided to take, gods only knew that they all deserved one. They had flown over the land and back to the sea after rescuing Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus, to give all seven demi-gods a small rest before fighting Gaea.

Frank and Hazel were in the stables; cleaning up incase Arion or Blackjack decided to come find them. Everyone knew neither horse would dare travel to the Ancient Lands, but it made Hazel feel better know that the horses home wasn't left to rot. Frank felt better that Hazel wasn't freaking out, and so was Percy. Blackjack and Arion were two horses who demanded to be treated with care, even if neither of them would ever know, the act was kind.

Piper was keeping guard outside Leo's room until she was satisfied that he had obtained enough sleep. The last few times someone had sent Leo to bed he woke up and left his room within four hours; and for someone who only rests ever other day that was nowhere even close to enough sleep.

Annabeth was in Percy's own room. Early in the morning she had snuck in and sought out comfort after a bad dream. Percy was glad she came; he always slept better when he had her in his arms. Even with his head full of sea weed he noticed that neither of them had nightmares of Tartarus when they slept together-or nightmares of any form really. He felt safer with her around, and Percy knew that Annabeth felt safer whenever he was around. The thought made him smile.

Percy didn't know where Jason was, usually he was either sleeping or with Piper, but Piper was in a mood that made her send anyone who she caught yawning to bed. Her usual targets were Leo and Jason, their friendship reminded Percy of his own with him and Grover.

Thinking of Grover sent a wave of shock through him. The fish's conversations grew silent at the thought of his best friend. Recently the bond between them had seem weak, Percy almost found himself forgetting it was even there at all. It had been so long since he had last seen Grover. Percy silently prayed to all the gods he liked that he would get to see his best friend again.

A yawn overpowered Percy, making him realize how little sleep he had gotten last night. Like Annabeth, he too was kept awake by the terrifying memories of Tartarus.

"Don't let Piper catch you yawning."

Percy turned his head to the left and saw Jason walking towards him. "Yeah, she saw Leo yawn and sent him to bed."

Jason smiled, "Leo must not have been too happy."

Percy felt a smile of his own form on his lips. "No, he only went to sleep if I promised to steer the ship. I think he thinks we might hit an iceberg or something."

"The Titanic 2?"

Jason's joke managed to get both boys to laugh lightly. Turning his back to the sea, Percy propped his elbows on the railing behind him. Jason leaned against the railing with his side, propping one elbow up and clasping his hands together in front of his chest.

A comfortable silence filled the air as both boys took in the calming silence. Percy welcomed it, the relaxation was nice for a change. Jason, Percy noticed, was unnerved by it, though he hid it well.

"So," said the son of Jupiter casually, "were almost ready to head back towards Greece."

It was true, the Argo 2's crew had taken two days to recharge their batteries. Percy thought the only reason the crew even thought to rest was because of his and Annabeth's trip to Tartarus, but he decided it would be best if he kept his mouth shut and just accepted the rest.

"Yup," said Percy.

Percy knew where this conversation was headed; both he and Jason had been avoiding it, but now the time had come that the two of them had to talk.

"Look, Percy-"

"Jason, stop," interrupted the sea god's child. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I know what you're going to say, but what I have to say will contradict your words. So let me start." Percy looked over at the blonde, who nodded silently in approval. Taking another deep breath, Percy slowly began saying what he had been avoiding for a week now.

"Jason, look. I know things have been different recently, and I know more of the weight we both should share has been placed on your shoulders-and I'm sorry for that, I really am." Percy looked at Jason, who silently urged him to continue. Looking away from his cousin, he continued talking. "When Annabeth told us she had to go on a solo quest I immediately said no, I didn't want her to go, it didn't feel right, I wasn't okay with it. But I let her go against my instincts and it ended up being a disaster. That stupid spider got its web wrapped around her ankle and dragged her into Tartarus."

Percy stopped talking, taking a few more deep breaths. Jason waited for him o calm down before continuing, he understood what Percy had pushed this conversation away for so long. After a few minutes of silence, Jason decided to speak up. "You know Percy, you didn't have to grab her hand." He spoke hesitantly, eyeing his dark haired cousin; watching for any sudden movements. "You could have let Annabeth fall into Tartarus alone." Percy stiffened, his hands became fists. "But you didn't let go of her hand. Instead you let go of the ledge-you fell with her." Jason watched his cousins hands relax; Percy realizing Jason wasn't telling him he should have let go of Annabeth's hand. "Percy, you held on to her, you fell with her."

Percy's voice was smaller than it normally was. "What's your point Jason?"

"My point is that you condemned yourself to Hell so she wouldn't have to suffer alone." Jason hesitated, waiting for Percy to look over at him. "And that was the single most heroic thing I have ever heard of."

A small smile graced Percy's face. "You're Thalia Graces's brother."

"So?" Asked Jason, confused at the subject change.

"'The most heroic thing you have ever heard of'?" His smile grew. "She sacrificed herself for her three friends and turned into a tree."

Jason hesitated before answering, the change in topic surprising him. When he answered, his voice was confident and gentle. "Turning into a tree is heroic, and I am proud to call her my sister, but it's not jumping into Tartarus."

"I don't know man, living as a tree is kind of the same principle. Do you even know how many animals could have peed on her?"

"What? Dude, what?" asked Jason in-between his laughs. Percy himself was no longer built up with tension, instead laughing with his friend.

"I'm just saying man."

"Percy, that's my sister you're talking about." said Jason, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I just call it like I see it."

"As do I." The smiles left their faces as the conversation became serious once again. "Seriously man, it was brave."

"Thanks," said Percy quietly, shame and guilt in his voice.

"I'm not letting you feel guilty Percy, it wasn't your fault."

"I should have cut the web," admitted Percy angrily.

Jason ignored the sudden anger, he was actually surprised it only now came out. :I should have gotten the two of you on the ship. Leo should have waited. Piper, Hazel, Frank, Nico, we are all to blame."

"Its not any of your guys fault."

"And neither is it yours or Annabeth's," countered Jason. Percy opened his mouth in an attempt to protest, but Jason spoke up again before he had the chance. "This isn't the conversation we need to have at the moment. Though do please pick it back up again later. I would love to beat out all the guilt you have of that day."

Percy remained quiet, so Jason continued talking. "Tomorrow we'll be in Greece again. Once we're in Greece, its going to be a constant battle against Gaea. I know things have been weird lately, I understand that Percy. But we need to work together if we have any shot at beating her. I can't do this without you Percy."

"Jason-"

The blond refused to allow him to interrupt. "Hera chose us two to be leaders on this quest. She chose the two of us to find a way to work together to stop Gaea. We need to work together Percy."

"Jason, it's not that simple."

"Yes, it is." countered Jason. "Strip away all the fear, distractions, situations, and it is as simple as that."

"Things have changed-"

"We need to stop Gaea-"

Percy talked over Jason. "I can't Jason." The blonde remained silent, starring wide-eyed at the sea-green eyes in front of him. Percy sighed and pushed himself off the railing. Turning his attention back to the sea, Percy took a deep breath before talking again. "Tartarus-a lot happened down there. Things I want to forget, things I know I will never forget." He paused and looked deeper into the water below. "Annabeth and I may have left Tartarus, but Tartarus hasn't left us. We both feel it with every breath we tae, every time we close our eyes we're back in that place. Jason, I'm trying to move on but I can't. I just, I, I can't-"

Percy's voice broke off and his head fell down, his chin hitting his chest. Jason knew Tartarus would come up in the conversation, but he wasn't prepared for Percy to talk about it. Ever since they rescued them, neither Percy or Annabeth spoke a word of what happened to anyone other than each other; and here was Percy opening up. Jason only heard the vaguest details that only scratched the surface and he already felt fear start eating him up.

"Percy-"

Jason was interrupted. "She almost died. Annabeth, she almost died." The statement sent chills down the blue eyed boys back. "I almost died. Countless times. We both almost died." Jason waited for Percy to continue, and after a long moment, he finally did. "I couldn't even protect the two of us. How am I supposed to protect seven?"

Jason was stunned at Percy's statement. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think Percy would open up to him. Yes, they were friends, yes they were family, but they were both also enemies in the battle for leadership on this quest. They had worked it out, but that was before Rome, before Tartarus before everything changed.

"Percy Jackson," stated Jason calmly. "You are a hero-you fought Kronos and won. You go to incredible lengths to protect your friends, you fight to save strangers-you are most defiantly a hero. You manage to succeed on five quests-one of which you didn't even have your memory for. You shouldered the weight of one Big Prophecy, and now you're doing it again. Yes, people die, and some of us may die-but that's not your fault. We're demi-gods, and we are at war-its part of who we are. Demi-gods die, it's a common known fact. It's not your fault."

"It will be if I fail, to protect Leo, Piper, Hazel, Frank, you, or Annabeth. What if Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter suffer because too many Greeks or too many Romans die in Greece on this quest?"

"Percy, you survived Tartarus. You got yourself and Annabeth out-alive. There isn't a single demi-god other than you two who can claim that. That is an incredible accomplishment, you should be proud.

"Yeah, I got me and Annabeth out. But I couldn't save them."

Percy's statement confused Jason. "What?" he asked.

"I couldn't save them," repeated the son of Poseidon.

"You couldn't save who?"

"Damasen. Bob. I couldn't save them."

Jason hadn't felt his confused in a long time-and that was saying something. But one look at Percy and Jason knew guilt had been eating him since he last saw Damasen and Bob-whoever they were. "Percy, look. I don't know who either of those people are, but I do know one thing. I know that they wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over them. Would they?" It took a moment, but Percy shook his head side to side. "No, they wouldn't." Agreed Jason, mainly so Percy could hear it out loud. "What would they want you to do?" It was a risky question, but this conversation was no longer about getting on board with the quest; it had altered to helping Percy.

"They would," said Percy slowly. "They would want me to find a way to stop Gaea."

Relief flooded Jason at his cousins words. His risky question had paid off. "Alright, so that's what we're going to do. You, me, Piper, Leo, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel are going to stop Gaea. Not for the gods-they could be down here helping us, instead they're sitting on their thrones safe and sound, hiding away. We're not doing this for the Fates-they can pick a new hobby for all I care. We are going to stop Gaea for all the other demi-gods out there, for all the mortals who have no idea what is going on. We'll stop her so Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood can have a chance to find a way to live in peace. We'll defeat Gaea out of personal revenge-because gods all know all seven of us have some." Jason's words brought a smile to Percy's face, though it was a small one. "We will stop Gaea to prove to Juno that even if she messes without lives, we will find a way to play with the cards we were dealt. But most of all, we will stop Gaea for Damasen and for Bob."

Jason stared at Percy until he saw green eyes stare back at him. It took a moment, but Percy's famous smirk appeared on his face. "Sounds like a plan."

Jason smiled, happy that he had managed to help ease his cousins mind. "You with me Percy?"

"Yeah."

"For Damasen and Bob," Jason said.

Percy smiled. "For Damasen and Bob," he agreed.

Tomorrow they were going to face their biggest challenge yet. But Jason was glad that he had Percy there next to him. Gaea had taken too much from too many for this fight to go in her favor.

Percy yawned again. "You should probably get some sleep Percy. Otherwise Piper will yell at you-and trust me, you don't want that."

The dark haired boy smiled again. "Thanks Jason," he said sincerely.

"Anytime."

Percy began walking towards the door that led him below deck. "Hey, you'll steer the ship for me? Because otherwise I'll have Leo up my butt accusing me of leaving the shop in danger."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, I'll make sure we don't have to change the Argo 2's name to the Titanic 2." Jason heard Percy laugh as he headed below.

Grabbing the wii controller he began thinking back to what Leo had told him about sailing the ship, angry at himself for not committing the lesson to memory.

Below deck, Percy quietly opened his bedroom door. Annabeth was still sleeping on the bed. As quietly as he could manage, Percy took off his shoes and climbed in next to her.

"You left," she said groggily.

He kissed her forehead. "Yeah, sorry. I just needed some air."

Annabeth snuggled up next to him and fell back asleep. Percy once again heard the hum from the wii remote once again being used to sail the ship. The quiet noise of the hum, and Annabeth's constant breathing next to him helped him fall into a nightmare free sleep.


End file.
